BUCS Premier League
Wednesday 28th October

The match was tough for an undefeated Portsmouth side where players were required to be defensively strong and quick on the counter attack.

The game started brightly with Pompey having a lot of possession of the ball and scoring reasonably early with a long kick from Sally Anne Thompson passing the Brunel defence, allowing Helen Bass to run onto and place neatly in the back of the net. Following this, the girls had to work hard to retain their lead; once Brunel gained more possession of the ball, Pompey’s defensive line had to remain disciplined and prevent balls over the top from becoming threatening with great clearances in the air by both Sara Hopes and Kirsty White.

However, just before the stroke of half time, following an attempt just grazing the outside of the post from the edge of the box, Pompey came under some pressure, and with a slight loss of concentration, Brunel scored from a cross in order to bring the game level.

The second half started as high- tempo as the first and both teams were well up for a contest. Pompey began well, using the wings in order to create chances inside the box, meanwhile at the other end, there were some great finger tip saves over the bar from the Pompey keeper Sally-Anne Thompson keeping the game level at 50 minutes.

Then midway through the second half, Gemma Hillier was fouled inside of the box and was able to convert the rebound from her penalty taking Pompey into the lead. Not long after, the game was put comfortably in the hands of the away side; with a great run down the right wing, Rachel Catling was able to place a ball through to the feet of Gemma Hillier, who then shot across goal into the bottom corner to score a second of the game, bringing the score line to 3-1 with about 20 minutes remaining.

From here though, the home side still battled hard and Pompey had to remain calm and just absorb the pressure from the home side and pass the time whilst pursuing the counter attack. In the end however, the away side earned a well deserved victory, to remain undefeated and now top of the league, with a great all-round performance.